Perks grew while budgets shrank in three Florida counties

With tax cuts and the real estate bust forcing local governments to slash their budgets, Doug Sword, Anthony Cormier and Patrick Whittle of the Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Fla.) looked at spending in three local sheriff’s agencies. They found a number of questionable expenses, such as a luxury SUV for Sarasota’s sheriff with upgrades like climate controlled leather seats and a $2,000 navigation system. Here are the stories for the counties of Sarasota, Charlotte and Manatee.